Sir Paul McCartney wanted to “trespass” and get “busted” by police by playing The Beatles’ last show at the Houses of Parliament.
The iconic band’s Disney+ docu-series, ‘The Beatles: Get Back’, shows the Fab Four – which was also comprised of Sir Ringo Starr, 81, and the late John Lennon and George Harrison – working on, rehearsing, and performing the album that would become their last, 1970’s ‘Let it Be’, and they are seen discussing their controversial ideas for their last gig.
And the 79-year-old music legend had a raucous idea to go out with a bang.
He told his bandmates: “We should do the show in a place where we’re not allowed to do it. We should trespass.
“If we’re busted in the Houses of Parliament playing in the main gallery and get forcibly ejected – still trying to play numbers and the police lifting us. Coppers, boots and truncheons and all that.”
The gig in question ended up being on the top of their Apple offices in London, where they were accompanied by legendary keyboardist Billy Preston.
And recently, one of the police officers who was sent to shut down the concert on 30 January 1969 shared what went down.
Constable Ray Shayler was among those tasked with stopping the “loud” gig at 3 Savile Row, Apple Corps HQ.
He recalled: “And I thought to myself, that’s loud.”
Ray and another policeman struggled to gain access at first.
He said: “But once I’d explained we’d had a lot of complaints from the other businesses on the street, they let us in.”
They were joined by two duty officers, including Ken Wharfe – who went on to be the late Princess Diana’s royal protection officer – who confessed he enjoyed the set.
He recalled: “I remember… Ringo Starr in that sort of tangerine coat and I thought ‘this is the best thing that’s ever going to happen to me in the police service’.
“None of us really knew what to do … because there wasn’t a problem, there wasn’t a crime, at worst it was noise but it was a pleasant noise.
After the performance, Lennon joked with the officers: “I’d like to thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition.”